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The contributions in this "Festschrift" extend over the whole range of Indian civilization: in the first part the earlier stages of Indian history spanning the period from the Indus civilization up to medieval times, and in the second part the more recent history of South Asia.
The contributions in this Festschrift extend over the whole range of Indian civilization: in the first part the earlier stages of Indian history spanning the period from the Indus civilization up to medieval times, and in the second part the more recent history of South Asia.
In this book, J. C. Heesterman attempts to understand the origins and nature of Vedic sacrifice—the complex compound of ritual practices that stood at the center of ancient Indian religion. Paying close attention to anomalous elements within both the Vedic ritual texts, the brahmanas, and the ritual manuals, the srautasutras, Heesterman reconstructs the ideal sacrifice as consisting of four moments: killing, destruction, feasting, and contest. He shows that Vedic sacrifice all but exclusively stressed the offering in the fire—the element of destruction—at the expense of the other elements. Notably, the contest was radically eliminated. At the same time sacrifice was withdrawn from soci...
No detailed description available for "The Ancient Indian Royal Consecration".
The Hindu sacred order is guarded by the very gods who violate it and the demons who oppose it. This book is a who's who of such transgressive figures, both familiar and unfamiliar, showing their place within the Hindu order that they violate. It is also a reflection of the serious scholarly debate over the nature and composition of this Hindu order. The chapters range from pan-Hindu deities such as Bhairava and Virabhadra to guardian gods of specific regions and lineages and of different goddess cults. Chapters cover violent themes in SAaivite hagiography, the position of Brahmans in relation to cultic carnivorism, guardian heroes in folk epic, the deified dead, the royal mythology of a "criminal caste," and a wide-ranging overview of transgressive sacrality.
The central theme of the symposium was elaborated upon according to various religions, periods and areas, such as North India (historical) by H. Kulke, A. Wink, J. C. Heesterman and H. T. Bakker; South India (historical) by D. Shulman, B. Stein and G. Berkemer; contemporary India by C.J. Fuller, L.P. van den Bosch and J. P. Parry; Sri Lanka by G. Obeyesekere; the Byzantine Empire by A. N. Palmer; the Moroccan Sultanate by H. Beck, and the European Middle Ages by M. Gosman. This systematic approach focusing on a well-defined theme in a widely differentiated context appears to be fruitful. An often little recognized, though essential, universal aspect of important places of pilgrimage is their...
The Rise of The Indo-Afghan Empire, c. 1710-1780 deals with the magnificent world of Afghan nomads, horse-dealers and mercenaries bridging the frontiers between the old metropolitan centres of India, Iran and Central Asia. During the eighteenth century they succeeded in establishing a vigorous new system of Indo-Afghan states. In Central Asia, the Afghans created an imperial tradition on the basis of long-standing Perso-Islamic ideals. In India, along the caravan routes with Turkistan and Tibet, they carved out thriving principalities in association with military service and the breeding and trade in war-horses. By fully incorporating this Afghan ascendancy into the fabric of Islamic and world history the author challenges the widely held notion of a gloomy Afghan past.
No detailed description available for "Pratidanam: Indian, Iranian, and Indo-European studies presented to Franciscus Bernardus Jacobus Kuiper on his sixtieth birthday".